Clamp.



' w; L. HERRIGK.

CLAMP. APBLIOATION FILED MAR. 25, 1910.

Patented Dec. 6, 1910.

2 SHEETS-SHEET 1.

8 0v A U L\ 3g! a W. 'L. HERRIGK.

CLAMP. APPLICATION FILED MAR.25, 1910.

2 SHEETS-SHEETZ Patented Dec. 6,1910.

WARREN L. HERRICK, OF SAN JOSE, CALIFORNIA.

CLAMP.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, WVARREN L. Hniuuox, citizen of the United States,residing at San Jose, in the county of Santa Clara and State ofCalifornia, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Clamps,of which the following is a specification.

This invent-ion comprehends certain new and useful improvements indevices for use in nailing the covers or lids upon shipping crates orboxes of various kinds, and the invention has for its primary object asimple, durable and eflicient construction of clamp which may beadvantageously used to draw down and clamp a cover or lid and hold it inclosed position securely upon the body portion of the crate, case or thelike, while the nails or other fastening devices are being applied, thedevice being automatically locked and held in closed or operativeposition so that both of the operators hands may be free and so that hemay also be free to shift or change his position, as required in thenailing operation.

As is well known, it is customary, in nailing down lids or covers, toclamp the lid upon the body portion of the crate, for in stance, withinthe jaws of an apparatus, the jaws being closed upon the lid and bodyportion by a foot treadle. These machines just mentioned are stationary,or are at least not easily portable and hence another object of theinvention is a portable device of this character which may be veryeasily manipulated to apply it and release it from a crate and the coverthereof.

With these and other objects in view as will more fully appear as thedescription proceeds, the invention consists in certain constructions,arrangements and combinations of the parts that I shall hereinafterfully describe and claim.

For a full understanding of the invention, reference is to be had to thefollowing description and accompanying drawings, in which:

Figure 1 is a perspective view illustrating one embodiment of myinvention and the application thereof; Fig. 2 is an enlarged elevationof a part of the device; Fig. 3 is a perspective view of the head of thedevice; Fig. 4 is a detail perspective view of a connecting arm; Fig. 5is a perspective view of a modified form, showing it Specification ofLetters Patent.

Application filed March 25, 1910.

Patented Dec. 6, 1910.

Serial No. 551,549.

in applied position; and, Fig. 6 is an elevation of the modification.

Corresponding and like parts are referred to in the followingdescription and indicated in all the views of the drawings by the samereference characters.

In that embodiment of my invention illustrated in Fig. 1, my improvedclamping device comprises a head 1 which is in the form of a plate andwhich is provided at its upper edge with laterally extending lugs 2designed to extend over one end of a crate top or lid near the edgethereof, the lugs being preferably toothed, as indicated at 3, orprovided with prongs which are adapted to penetrate the cleat or thelike which extends over the lid, so as to securely hold the lid inplace.

The lever 4 is fulcrumed intermediate of its ends on the head 1 and isprovided at one end with a laterally projecting extremity 5 which isrecessed at opposite edges, as indicated at 6, so as to form aprotuberance to hold said extremity in a loop 7 which is formed on oneend of a connecting arm 8. The connecting arm 8 co-acts with acomplemental arm 9 which in the present embodiment of the invention isprovided at its lower end with a laterally projecting lug 10 toothed orprovided with prongs, as indicated at 11, in a manner corresponding tothe lugs 2. This lug 10 is designed to engage under the bottom of thebody portion of the crate or the like, the handle end 12 of the lever 4;being swung up so as to extend the device whereby it may be easilysecured to the lid and to the body portion. The connecting arms 8 and 9are passed through a coil adjusting and tensioning spring which isformed in two sections, the coils of said sections being engaged at oneend, as shown, whereby the spring may by a rotary movement be lengthenedor shortened as required, and the lower end of the arm 8 is hooked, asindicated at 8 to engage the lower spring section 13, while the upperend of the arm 9 is correspondingly hooked, as indicated at 9 to engagethe upper end of the upper spring section 14. By means of this adjustingspring, the device may be used with equal facility on boxes of slightlydifferent heights. For example, crates and fruit boxes vary in thicknesssometimes and the size of the fruit demands that a cleat be putunderneath the cover or lid, making the crate that much higher. Theadjustable feature of the spring as just described, compensates forthis.

From the foregoing description in connection with the accompanyingdrawings, the operation of my improved clamp will be apparent. In thepractical use of the device, the head 1 by means of its toothed prongedlugs 2, is engaged with one end of the head or cover, the lug 10 isengaged with the bot tom of the body portion of the crate or the like,the lever being then handle end uppermost and the handle end is thendrawn down to contract the adjusting spring and draw the lid down uponthe body portion of the box. It is to be noted that the lever isprovided with a crook 1, so that it may snap past the center andsecurely hold the parts with the spring tension, whereby both hands ofthe operator may be free for the nailing operation.

Th at view or embodiment of my invention illustrated in Fig. 1 isparticularly designed for use in connection with boxes or crates whichrequire relatively rigid cleats over the ends of the lid or cover. Undersuch circumstances, it is manifest that the clamp need not extendthroughout the width of the lid, but may merely engage the cleat atabout a middle point, as the cleat in turn will hold the lid tightlydown upon the body portion of the boxes or the like from one side of thelid to the other. But for nailing crates or boxes which do not employcleats, I prefer that modification or embodiment of my invention whichis illustrated in Fig. 5. In this form of the device, the parts aresubstantially like the parts illustrated in Fig. 1 with the exception ofthe head, which in the modified form of the device is designated 1 andwhich is provided with toothed or pronged lugs 2* connected together attheir extremities by a cross bar 15 which preferably extends laterallybeyond both of the lugs and is of a length to engage practically theentire lid from one side to the other. It is clear that owing to thespaces between the lugs 2 being entirely open, the cross bar 15 willinterfere in no way with the nailing operation, the lugs 2 beingrelatively narrow. It will also be seen from this modification that myinvention is not limited to the use of a tension spring constructed intwo sections. For instance, the spring in Figs. 5 and 6, designated 16,is a continuous spring connected at its ends to the arms 8 and 9.

It is to be understood that my invention is not limited to themodification herein described, but that various other changes may bemade in the construction, arrangement and proportions of the parts,without departing from the scope of the invention as defined in theappended claims.

Having thus described the invention, what is claimed as new is:

1. A clamp of the character described, comprising a head provided withlugs, a lever fulcrumed intermediate of its ends on said head, an armpivotall connected to one arm of said lever, a co-acting arm, the lastnamed arm being provided with a lug, and a spring through which the armspass in overlapping relation to each other, the arms being connected tothe spring, substantially mediate of its ends on said head, an armprovided with a lug another arm connected to said lever, a springthrough which the overlapping ends of the arms "pass, the spring beingconstructed in sections the convolutions of which are interengagewhereby a turning movement of one section rela-' tive to the other willextend and contract the spring, the adjoining ends of the arms beingconnected to said sections respectively. a. A clamp of the characterdescribed, comprising a head provided with laterally projecting lugs, alever fulcrumed intermediate of its ends on said head, an arm providedat one end with a laterally projecting lug and provided with a hook atthe other end, another arm provided at one end with a loop, the leverbeing formed with a laterally projecting extremity on which the loop ispivotally mounted, the second named arm being provided at its oppositeend with a hook, the adjoining ends of the two arms overlapping, and aspring through which said ends pass, the hooked ends of the arms beingconnected to the spring, as and for the purpose set forth. I

In testimony whereof I affix my signature in presence of two witnesses.

WARREN L. HERRICK. [Ls] Vitnesses:

GEORGE J. LITTLE, H. V. .HAMMoNs.

